What Cart Has the Greatest Momentum?
To determine which cart has the greatest momentum, we need to calculate the momentum of each cart. Momentum is calculated using the formula:
Momentum Formula:
Momentum (p) = mass (m) * velocity (v)
Given that all four carts move to the right with different masses and velocities, we can calculate the momentum for each cart:
Cart A:
Mass: 200 kg
Velocity: 4.8 m/s
Momentum: 200 kg * 4.8 m/s = 960 kg m/s
Cart B:
Mass: 220 kg (200 kg + 20 kg)
Velocity: 4.0 m/s
Momentum: 220 kg * 4.0 m/s = 880 kg m/s
Cart C:
Mass: 240 kg (200 kg + 40 kg)
Velocity: 3.8 m/s
Momentum: 240 kg * 3.8 m/s = 912 kg m/s
Cart D:
Mass: 260 kg (200 kg + 60 kg)
Velocity: 3.5 m/s
Momentum: 260 kg * 3.5 m/s = 910 kg m/s
After calculating the momentum of each cart, Cart A has the greatest momentum with 960 kg m/s.